Walt Whitman once wrote, “O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills...” He composed this line in honorable tribute to Abraham Lincoln, for whom the poem was written. In the film “Dead Poet’s Society,” each student stands on their desk and recites the first line for their beloved and inspirational teacher. My junior English teacher was a stoic man with an intimidating stance and humor as dry as the Sahara. A stern but fair individual, his entertaining teaching methods combined with a vigorous and demanding curriculum motivated me to exercise my greatest potential as a student. To this day he remains to be one of the most inspiring people I have come in contact with. Mr. Dunphy is my Captain.
On the first day of my junior year in September 2008, my second period was Honors English. Mr. Dunphy stood outside his classroom door, arms crossed, staring point-blank at each student as they entered his dungeon. Upon seeing my new teacher I gave a friendly “Hello!” smile. It was not returned. “Oh God,” I thought to myself, “this year is going to be hell.”
I would come to realize that acts like these are a part of Mr. Dunphy’s humor. He enjoys being intimidating to produce the best quality work out of his students. I can verify that this tactic was personally effective. I ventured to impress him with every essay I wrote and every test I took. By means of Mr. Dunphy’s exceptional teaching techniques, I began to love the subject to a greater extent than I had in the past. He made learning interesting by creating new projects for each book we read and, of course, infusing his wry sarcasm. For Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” we held a mock-trial to determine whether Frankenstein’s monster was guilty or innocent of the murders he committed. He organized formal technological debates for “1984,” soap opera skits for “Wuthering Heights,” and often showed the film adaption of other works including “Othello” and “Beowulf.” Once he had the class read a poem about the autumn season and proceeded to throw dead leaves out of a bag over each individual’s head while they read.
Despite his humor, he still proved to be an exceptionally tough teacher who had especially high expectations for his honors English class. He assigned rigorous coursework with hard deadlines. With an ominous stack of graded papers held in one hand, he used to slowly circle the room like a shark, occasionally smacking one face down on the respective student’s desk with a booming force. The first time this happened to me I was filled with instant misery, anticipating a fat, red “F” to be stamped across my pathetic excuse for a composition. A few quiet groans sounded around the room in response to poor grades received by some of my fellow classmates. I hesitantly peeled back the corner of my essay, holding it gingerly between my index finger and thumb as if it were something vile that would contaminate my skin. To my consolation, an “A” greeted me on the front page. “Good work, Coelho,” Mr. Dunphy called from across the room in his gruff, solemn voice, noticing my visible shock and relief. Exams and assignments that I received high scores on in this class filled me with a sense of unparalleled accomplishment; I knew I had earned those grades. Whether a student received an “A” or an “F” in his class though, there was a unanimous consensus that Mr. Dunphy...was the man.
Although he was a very popular teacher, often called “The Dunphanator,” I felt I had a personal connection with Mr. Dunphy. In his class he taught me how to refine my writing skills with his personalized teaching approaches and techniques, many of which I still use today. He administered confidence in these writing abilities, often taking me aside after class to commend my latest assignment. He encouraged me to pursue English as a major in college and at the end of the year told me I was one of the best writers he had in all his years of educating. This comment I will always hold in high regard. Mr. Dunphy gave me a glowing college recommendation and the book “The Alchemist” as a parting gift when he retired my senior year. By spring of 2009, due to my experience with this teacher and my improvement as an English student, I was certain I wanted to pursue a career in the English Language Arts. I went on to study Writing, Literature, & Publishing at Emerson College before transferring to URI to study English and Secondary Education, inspired by my junior year English teacher to occupy the profession of educating.
High school wouldn’t have been the same without this teacher, my mentor. I am forever grateful to the impact he had on my education and my life and hope to do the same for another student in my future career as an English teacher. “O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won...”
On the first day of my junior year in September 2008, my second period was Honors English. Mr. Dunphy stood outside his classroom door, arms crossed, staring point-blank at each student as they entered his dungeon. Upon seeing my new teacher I gave a friendly “Hello!” smile. It was not returned. “Oh God,” I thought to myself, “this year is going to be hell.”
I would come to realize that acts like these are a part of Mr. Dunphy’s humor. He enjoys being intimidating to produce the best quality work out of his students. I can verify that this tactic was personally effective. I ventured to impress him with every essay I wrote and every test I took. By means of Mr. Dunphy’s exceptional teaching techniques, I began to love the subject to a greater extent than I had in the past. He made learning interesting by creating new projects for each book we read and, of course, infusing his wry sarcasm. For Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” we held a mock-trial to determine whether Frankenstein’s monster was guilty or innocent of the murders he committed. He organized formal technological debates for “1984,” soap opera skits for “Wuthering Heights,” and often showed the film adaption of other works including “Othello” and “Beowulf.” Once he had the class read a poem about the autumn season and proceeded to throw dead leaves out of a bag over each individual’s head while they read.
Despite his humor, he still proved to be an exceptionally tough teacher who had especially high expectations for his honors English class. He assigned rigorous coursework with hard deadlines. With an ominous stack of graded papers held in one hand, he used to slowly circle the room like a shark, occasionally smacking one face down on the respective student’s desk with a booming force. The first time this happened to me I was filled with instant misery, anticipating a fat, red “F” to be stamped across my pathetic excuse for a composition. A few quiet groans sounded around the room in response to poor grades received by some of my fellow classmates. I hesitantly peeled back the corner of my essay, holding it gingerly between my index finger and thumb as if it were something vile that would contaminate my skin. To my consolation, an “A” greeted me on the front page. “Good work, Coelho,” Mr. Dunphy called from across the room in his gruff, solemn voice, noticing my visible shock and relief. Exams and assignments that I received high scores on in this class filled me with a sense of unparalleled accomplishment; I knew I had earned those grades. Whether a student received an “A” or an “F” in his class though, there was a unanimous consensus that Mr. Dunphy...was the man.
Although he was a very popular teacher, often called “The Dunphanator,” I felt I had a personal connection with Mr. Dunphy. In his class he taught me how to refine my writing skills with his personalized teaching approaches and techniques, many of which I still use today. He administered confidence in these writing abilities, often taking me aside after class to commend my latest assignment. He encouraged me to pursue English as a major in college and at the end of the year told me I was one of the best writers he had in all his years of educating. This comment I will always hold in high regard. Mr. Dunphy gave me a glowing college recommendation and the book “The Alchemist” as a parting gift when he retired my senior year. By spring of 2009, due to my experience with this teacher and my improvement as an English student, I was certain I wanted to pursue a career in the English Language Arts. I went on to study Writing, Literature, & Publishing at Emerson College before transferring to URI to study English and Secondary Education, inspired by my junior year English teacher to occupy the profession of educating.
High school wouldn’t have been the same without this teacher, my mentor. I am forever grateful to the impact he had on my education and my life and hope to do the same for another student in my future career as an English teacher. “O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won...”